Sabrina’s Money Matters

This post is not for a high school Valentine’s date, it’s for grown, over 18 consenting adults. So if you are under the age of 18, do not read this post. Okay, now that we’ve gotten that out of the way… you don’t have much time, so I hope you read and act on it right away.

Valentine’s Day is Thursday buddy, and if you and your girl have been together a while, there ARE expectations. You can always get some jewelry, and at a great price. No one said rings were necessary, get her a nice pendant or something that you can tell her is beautiful on her.

If you shop locally be watchful of price hikes, I have used Bidz several times and have gotten some wonderful jewelry from them. With the money you’ll save in the price you’ll be happy to have it overnighted to your doorstep for the momentous occasion.

And I even have a recommendation if you don’t have a date…that will help you get one. Yes, it’s a one stop shop, get a date, get the Valentine mojo working and earn a little credit for the relationship that ensues, and have a great Valentine’s this year… Check out FriendSearch.com to find arm candy for the love festival that is Valentine’s Day and start a great relationship on the right note.

There are some of you who don’t want to miss out on Valentine’s Day and the romance that is inevitable, but you also don’t want a relationship because maybe you’re too busy or, for whatever reason don’t want ties. So for a one time date, I am recommending a company that understands a different philosophy… “The Heart Wants What The Heart Wants…Find Out” HERE

Lest we not forget that the kids must be taken care of if you have any…..of course! Trust a screening company that has already registered capable babysitters, that even Dr. Phil has recommended, get a FREE Nanny Search at Nannies4hire

You can get a great little set of underclothes to tell her how you feel if you love that special lady in your life…

You need something hot for you too….

Get down to your WebUndies scivvies before you give her the jewelry you got her and be sure to have a better than ever Valentine’s! I’ve thought of everything for you, and if you want to provide a fantastic set up for your girl, don’t forget to consider making her feel like a million dollar movie star.

That’s all for now everyone, have fun planning for your Valentine!

Today is a perfect day to give you a comprehensive list of links for all your credit needs. Sure I could just link to the various articles I’ve written that contain said links, but that would leave you doing legwork, and I’m all about doing that for you - that’s why you come here isn’t it? Simple, no hassle, drama free financial information? Ah well, I’ll hook you up anyways, free of charge. I’m that kind of girl.

Here’s how to get your credit report, it’s a how to article, so no links, just instructions and a step by step guide. And I’m sure you want to know how to dispute your credit online with Experian.

If you’ve read my other credit posts, you’ll have what you need for that.

I have no choice but to link to the guide on locking your credit report. Not to mention this list of places you probably frequent that allow potentially unsecure access to your credit information that can easily be taken advantage of. The comments on this article also proved informative as they included some other places you would never dream have private information.

Below is an excerpt from Get Your Credit Score posted back in September.

“The truth is, no matter how “bad” you may think your credit is, there is someone worse off than you. There are only 5 sites I would recommend for obtaining your credit score, and they won’t surprise you.

www.AnnualCreditReport.com
www.MyFico.com
www.Experian.com
www.TransUnion.com
www.Equifax.com

The first one listed, AnnualCreditReport.com will give you a copy of each of your credit reports once per year for free. MyFico.com will give you all three of your credit scores at once. Without subscribing to anything. As you would expect the individual sites will sell you their individual score. They all offer some sort of credit monitoring for a monthly service fee as well. The big difference between the sites of the actual companies including those listed above and those SCAMs I’ve talked about is how they get your money.

The sites I listed let you purchase your credit score without purchasing a service as well. The scams never give you the option of just getting your score and dealing with them only once.”

Here’s a How To Guide to putting a Fraud Alert on Your Credit File.

Well folks, that’s all I have for you today, come back tomorrow for another great post making your money matter. If you liked this post, you should sign up for my feed and never miss another post! You know you want to, go on and sign up, I might surprise you.

There are a lot of ways that you can take the frugal road, i.e. shortcuts, and save a significant amount of money in doing so. Clipping coupons, buying store brands, washing your own car, changing your own oil and so on.

However there are some services and products that are worth what you pay for them. You want a good suit to last a few years? You’re going to have to shell out a little money, because a Wal-Mart suit just won’t do.

You want a great cocktail dress? You may have to spend on one dress what you would typically spend for two or three outfits, so that you can get a stunning dress, but if it’s worth it to you, you can still be frugal and look fantastic.

Today, specifically, I’m going to talk about our hair. As a woman, I like to do things to mine, I’ve been in hair change drought phase since 2004. My hair has been the same color and just changing in length for that period of time. As frequently as I used to change it, dye it, highlight it and so on, this has been very difficult for me.

For the last year or so, I’ve been wanting to do something drastic, make a change. However, I knew that I didn’t want to buy it at the drug store and do it myself. I know how that turns out. I even tried to arrang to have a friend of a friend do it.

At the end of it all, I paid to have it professionally done, and now, I’m glad that I did. I spent a whopping $95.00 on what was done.

I know, I know, but did you miss the part where I’ve talked myself out of it for a solid year?

It hurt to pay that much, but I tipped well because it was a job excellently done. Fortunately because it was Super Bowl Sunday, I was about the only person there so I received the attention I needed.

When it comes right down to it, I’m glad I spent the extra money to have it done professionally for two reasons:

First, because I really love it, but if I hadn’t they would’ve fixed it without charging me more, and they have expertise that I relied on.

Second, because you get what you pay for.

If I had saved half that money and my hair had not turned out the way I expected, I would’ve had to go to a salon to fix it, thereby being out that much more money in the long run.

I feel good about my purchase, and it looks great, so no complaints here.

What’s worth the money to you? Are there things you simply will not compromise on?

I have a special treat for you all today. You have to pay a service to do this to hear some companies tell it.

I’m telling you how for FREE!

Bet ya didn’t know that you can LOCK your credit report. Yep, lock it. From inquiries, from background checks, from pre-approved offers, from identity theft, from everything except accounts you already have open.

Pull a fast one on those companies who want you to pay for this level of security…

Okay, for your credit reports to be locked it’ll take a little money - but it’s ten to twelve dollars for each company and it’ll cost the same to unlock it if you need to.

Your existing creditors will still be able to report to your credit and send you offers but no one will be able to perform an inquiry, a background check, a credit check or anything.

If you want it released for a certain period of time you can do so, you can also have it released to just one person. You have to notify the credit agency 5 days before you take any action on your credit file and in writing.

To freeze your credit you need to send the letter by certified mail - return receipt requested so that you know when they’ve received it and you’ll know when you can tell someone to pull your report.

Each of these instances may cost you a fee. This is free to people who have a police report verifying identity theft. The addresses you’ll write to are below:

Equifax Security Freeze
P.O. Box 105788
Atlanta, Georgia

Experian Security Freeze
P.O. Box 9554
Allen, TX 75013

Trans Union Security Freeze
P.O. Box 6790
Fullerton, CA 92834-6790

Here’s what you have to include:

1. A letter by certified mail.

2. Provide your full name, including middle initial, address, social security number and date of birth.

3.You haven’t moved but if you had over the past five years you’d need to list your addresses out for the past five years.

4. Provide proof of current address with a utility bill or phone bill.

5. Send a photocopy of a government issued id card or license.

6. Pay the fee by check, money order or credit card.

After five days the freeze will be in place. After ten days you’ll receive a pin number or password, you know what to do once you get that.

Credit bureaus have to lift a freeze three days after receiving your request to lift it. If anyone tries to pull your file while it is frozen, they will get a code that indicates the report is frozen. You can still order your own report however and your score is not affected by this.

By the way if you haven’t stopped the pre-approved credit card offers read this opt out guide to find out how.

The case law that allows you to lock your credit report is called the Regulation of Consumer Credit Reporting Agencies Act.

I’ve attached a sample letter so you can just plug your info and the address to the proper agency in so that you don’t have to do much to get this going.

Security Freeze Sample Letter

Read this article if you want to know how to put a
Fraud Alert On Your Credit File before you lock it.

I hope this guide proves to be useful to you, and please know that you DO NOT have to pay for information to protect yourself. You CAN find it for free. Look through my archives for multiple articles that help you help yourself. I believe in doing what you can do yourself, because that is the only way you can be sure YOUR interests are what are important.

That’s all for today folks, don’t be suckered into paying for something that you can get for free!